Exhibitions展覽

“How might creators, through a gentle sensibility, connect nature and humankind?” Anthropologist and mythologist Toshiaki Ishikura poses this question in The Footprints of Objects. Through precisely that tenderness of perception, artists transform natural materials into a medium that links people with the natural world. Ceramist Kazunori Hamana, who also works as a farmer and fisherman, lets his jars weather in the wind and sun, allowing them to change on their own. The vessels acquire a rustic surface charged with quiet poetry. Richard Long, by walking the land, turns mud from the rivers of his home into an artistic vocabulary, bringing forth works closely bound to place. Nicole Ondre reinterprets the concept of the “knot” in clay, shaping forms that appear spare yet hold palpable force. Masaomi Yasunaga departs from pottery’s conventional functionality, drawing inspiration from archaeological finds and using glaze together with feldspar, stone, metal, or powdered glass to construct new possibilities for sculpture.

As Akira Minagawa writes, “By coming into contact with the emotions embedded in objects, one can awaken the feelings within oneself.” These works are therefore more than external objects. They function as channels to our inner life, reattuning our sense of resonance with the natural world. The point of contact between nature and human beings is not confined to material vessels. It lies more deeply in our spiritual and emotional life, where such objects become a crucial conduit to inner perception.

Since moving into a new environment, I have found that living with art in daily life has opened many forms of sensory awareness. In times of exhaustion, these works, bearing their makers’ emotions and ties to the natural world, reorder my emotions and perceptions, becoming my point of contact with nature. When information streams and screens numb the senses, these works become my oasis in the city.

The exhibition borrows the Gen Z colloquialism “Touch Grass,” which urges us to set aside our phones and social media, step outdoors, and embrace the real world. The phrase becomes the exhibition’s metaphor: artworks born from nature and nourished by it invite us to remember to touch the earth (the grass), to awaken our senses, and to reclaim the precious capacity to reconnect with ourselves.

人類學與神話學家石倉敏明在《器物的足跡》中所說：「創作者如何用其溫柔的感性連結自然與人類」。藝術家透過溫柔的感性，將自然素材轉化為能夠連結人與自然的媒介。身兼農夫跟漁夫多重身份的陶藝家 Kazunori Hamana 選擇讓陶罐在風吹日曬中自然蛻變，作品呈現出古樸又富含詩意的質地。Richard Long 透過在自然間行走，將家鄉河川的泥土化為藝術語彙，孕生出與土地緊密相連的作品；Nicole Ondre 將「結」這個概念以陶重新詮釋，形構出看似簡約卻充滿力度的作品。Masaomi Yasunaga 跳脫陶藝以往的功能性，利用考古出土物為靈感，以釉劑輔以長石、岩石、金屬或玻璃粉去構築雕塑新的可能性。

皆川明在書中也談及：「藉由接觸『東西』蘊含的情感，能喚醒使用者心中的情感」。這些作品不僅是外在的物件，更像是開啟內在情感的橋樑，引導我們重新感受與自然之間的共鳴與連結。自然與人類的接口不僅存在於物理的器物中，更深藏於我們的靈性與情感之中，成為連結內在感知的重要媒介。

自搬入新環境以來，在生活裡與藝術共處，開啟了許多感官上的覺察。當疲憊不堪時，這些承載創作者與自然連結的作品，重新整理了我的情緒與感受，成為我與自然的接口。當資訊與螢幕讓人麻痺時，它們成為了我在城市的綠洲。

展覽「Touch Grass」借用了 Z 世代的俚語——鼓勵彼此放下手機與社群媒體，走出戶外、擁抱真實世界。這也成為展覽的隱喻：這些取材自自然、汲取自然養分的藝術作品，邀請我們重新記得去觸摸大地（草），喚醒感官，重新拾回與自我連結的珍貴能力。